


Gala Gone Wrong

by Caustic_Corgi



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Ableism, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assassination, Assassination Attempt(s), Awesome Foggy Nelson, Bat Family, Blind Character, Blind Matt Murdock, Bruce Wayne Needs a Hug, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Damian Wayne Feels, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne is Robin, Damian Wayne is a Little Shit, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Emotional Hurt, Fluff and Angst, Foggy Nelson Is a Good Bro, Gen, Human Disaster Matt Murdock, Hurt Damian Wayne, Hurt Dick Grayson, Hurt Matt Murdock, Jason Todd Has Issues, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Lawyer Matt Murdock, Matt Murdock & Foggy Nelson Friendship, Matt Murdock Needs a Hug, Mistaken Identity, Pain, Police Officer Dick Grayson, Protective Bruce Wayne, Protective Damian Wayne, Protective Dick Grayson, Protective Foggy Nelson, Secret Identity, Surgery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:07:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23934307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caustic_Corgi/pseuds/Caustic_Corgi
Summary: At a gala, a friend of the bat-family, Matt Murdock, becomes the target of an assassination.Why won’t Daredevil help them protect their friend?
Comments: 30
Kudos: 227





	1. Red Dot

"Do we have to go to another gala? There have been far too many lately. I don't like being a show pony for father's business pawns," complained Damian, picking up a fancy suit that had been spread out on his bed.

Damian and Dick had just been told that they had to attend another fancy gala. Bruce was feeling worried that they weren't spending enough time keeping up their rich kid personas and his remedy for this was to force them to go to an ungodly amount of parties for members of high society.

"It's business partners- not pawns and stop talking like that, it's weird. I know it's super annoying to have to go to all of these, but I think it might be the last one for a while. And besides Matt is going to be there, you like him," Dick said. Dick disliked fancy parties as much as Damian, but they were always better with a friend there. It's not like they had a choice of not going anyway.

"He is okay. He is not as insufferable as the others. Despite his flaws, he is useful and intelligent," stated Damian.

"It's okay to say that you think someone is cool, you know. He is. We can just hang around him the whole time so that we're less bothered by people trying to get favors from Bruce," Dick suggested, knowing how much his brother hated grandiose parties. They were just going to be ogled the whole time, but it would help to have a real conversation. People tended to bother them less if they hanging out with someone who wasn't considered part of high society.

"I'll do that. Do you know why Mr. Murdock is attending this gala? He normally doesn't come because of how those pompous people treat him," questioned Damian. The last time Matt was at a party he was surrounded by people who either pitied him past the extreme as well as people who made fun of him (a lot of tripping)

"Yeah, they're ableist assholes. If we hang together the guests won't bother us or him, or at least I hope so. Matt's coming this time because he's working with Bruce to help keep the guys we catch actually in jail. They're working on a major project together, but Bruce won't help me what it's about though. I think it has to do with Lex Luthor," said Dick.

"Father shouldn't involve Mr. Murdock with our problems. We should handle our problems ourselves and it could bring trouble to Mr. Murdock. Father knows that he is at a disadvantage. We don't want another Harvey Dent," said Damian.

"Just because he's a lawyer helping us out doesn't mean he's going to go crazy like Harvey. You know that Matt is always looking for a way to help people. He can't do it the way we can, but he still helps others," Dick expressed, tying his tie.

"Yeah, and look where that got him," Damian muttered, referring to the accident that blinded Matt. "If Father has any more of these after tonight, he's going to regret it."

"Relax, I don't know why you're so uptight," Dick groaned.

"I hate parties. Let's just get this over with."

Dick laughed and dragged his brother by the arm out the door.  
___________  
"Thanks for coming Matt, I know this isn't really your kind of thing." Bruce and Matt were talking in the main hall. Guests were starting to flood the place and there was less space to occupy comfortably, but many of the guests seemed to be avoiding Matt like the plague, they had no reason to want to involve themselves with someone who was disabled.

"It's fine. I needed to get out anyway, been cooped up in the office too much. It'll be nice to talk to the kids too. Oh, I'm done with the documents you wanted. Had to pull a few strings to get the information though. Do you want them now or later?" Matt said taking a large, important looking folder out of his bag.

"Now's fine," Bruce took the folder. "Thanks, this is really going to help. I hope this doesn't put you in any trouble, you know how vicious those men can be."

"Aww, it's sweet of you to worry, but you know I can take care of myself just fine."

Bruce stood up straighter, afraid that he had offended his friend. "I didn't mean-"

Matt laughed, cutting him off. "I know you didn't, I was joking. You don't have to worry about hurting my feelings." Matt liked that Bruce could talk comfortably with him. A lot of people didn't know how to talk to a blind person, which Matt though was kind of silly, he had eye problems, not ear issues. Bruce, even though he was stiff and hard to read, was a way better conversationalist than most. "Do you know where the boys are? I want to catch up a bit.

"Oh yeah, Tim had to go out of town and couldn't make it. Dick and Damian were so mad. You know how they hate these things, but, you know, got to keep up appearances. Dick and Damian are welcoming guests by the front. They want to say hi too. Once they manage to escape, they'll come right over."

Matt smiled, "Great."

Bruce shifted his attention elsewhere. "Oh speaking of which, I can see them now. I think they need some rescuing too. Want me to lead you over?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. Who's ogling them now?" Matt chuckled as Bruce led him by the elbow.

"A lady who could put Joker to shame," Bruce whispered, talking about a lady who was hovering over his sons with a face covered in an ungodly amount of makeup that wasn't done well at all. Both laughed silently. With Matt, Bruce felt less reserved. He had to show more emotion in his voice so Matt understood what he was feeling and this eventually led for Bruce to not feel like he couldn't show his emotions to Matt. Matt was one of the few people he could laugh with that wasn't a member of his makeshift family.

They walked over to the boys, trying to avoid as many people as possible, which was very hard, a lot of people wanted things from Bruce. It became a sort of race of who could escape the annoying, needy people first, Team Dick and Damian or Team Bruce and Matt.

The former group won, leaving the lady who was trying to talk to them very upset and appalled, Damian could be quite offensive. 

After tearing Bruce from an obnoxious reporter, the group of four made there way to a more secluded part of the ballroom where they could chat comfortably.

Dick gave Matt a big bear hug. "I missed you! What have you been up to since last time? I heard about that case against Fisk, that was a big one!"

Matt laughed and motioned for Dick to slow down his speech. "No one can understand you when you talk like that," Damian admonished.

"It's been a while hasn't it," Matt said. "I've been good. The Fisk case was a rough one, but worth it. Haven't had any other big ones since then. I'm working on something with Bruce as you probably know. You'll be seeing a lot more of me."

"Really?" asked Damian, happy to have more time with the lawyer but also unhappy that his father had involved Matt in bat business at the same time. Damian liked Matt, he treated him with respect, but also let him act childishly, which Damian often felt like he couldn't do in front of others.

"I can't tell if you're taking that as a good or a bad thing," laughed Matt.

"We have some stuff to work on together at the manor, so he'll be over a lot until we have the case that we're organizing in its final stages," Bruce said.

"Like in the manor hidden away or like we'll actually see him?" Dick asked, worried.

"Don't worry, I'll be able to chill with you," Matt laughed.

"So we can finish our movie marathon?!" Dick asked excitedly. "I have Finding Nemo with the audio!"

"Yes! Good old Pixar!" Matt cheered.

"Matt and I have some business to attend to after this, he'll be coming home with us. If I get stuck in a call, you can watch your movie," Bruce said. (This was something that was almost 100% going to happen)

Dick cheered and Damian crosses his arms and pretended to not be happy with the turn of events.

They chatted for a long while, enjoyed the food, Damian threatened a group of kids who were making silly faces (not the good kind) at Matt, and Dick and Matt went into a deep conversation about laws. Dick had told Matt that he was thinking of becoming a police officer, but hadn't told Bruce yet. Matt was excited for him.

The party was winding down and it was time for Bruce to make his ever boring closing speech. This meant that Dick and Damian had to stand next to Bruce, who stood behind the podium. This left Matt all by himself, which was fine except that it left him surrounded by pompous ableist strangers who kept trying to make fun of him. For example, one jerk kept waving his hand in front of Matt's face repeatedly, which Matt of course noticed and Matt told the boy to cut it out and act his age. Damian gave that asshole a slice if the classic bat-glare.

"I'd like to start out by thanking everyone who turned out to this even tonight..." Bruce started his long and sleep inducing speech. 

Dick and Damian employed themselves by playing with their hands while Bruce talked about changes Wayne Enterprise was going to bring to Gotham. After a bit, Dick settle at just staring at the faces in the crowd. An obnoxious kid must have brought an annoying laser pointer because there was a red dot shining on Matt's chest. People could be real assholes.

Suddenly Matt cocked his head at something only to go flying backwards. A shot had wrung out. 

It wasn't a laser pointer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stick around for more chapters and let me know what you think! 
> 
> Do you like it? Comments feed my soul!


	2. Fault

Bruce wasn't that very good at giving the type of speeches that would draw a person in and keep them intrigued. It was pretty much common knowledge. Matt's mind wandered, he already knew the gist of what the speech would be about anyway. Matt was really happy that he had decided to go to his party. The last time he went to one made him feel resistant to the idea of going to another one. The guests were jerks, sure, but Bruce and the boys were great. Things had been lonely lately and it would really raise his spirits to have a movie night. It would be nice to have a relaxing night without any daredeviling. If the kid next to him would stop waving his arm in his face, the night would be absolutely perfect.

The boys sounded bored standing next to Bruce in front of everyone, Matt could hear them rocking back and forth on their heels and playing with their hands. They really were great kids, Matt contemplated. They'd grow up to be great people. It was great that Dick had decided what he wanted to do with his life. Matt was proud. Bruce probably wouldn't be happy at first, but he'd come around eventually. Damian was sweet, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. He just needed to stop putting up walls. Matt hoped he could help with that.

Matt was distracted from his musings by a sound. It was coming from the balconies above, but everyone was supposed to be gathered for the closing speech. Maybe a reporter or security guard. At first it sounded like a fancy camera shutter, but Matt had been around enough muggers to realize that it was a gun being cocked. It didn't sound like the type of guns that the security guards had. This sounded larger, more like long-range. There was danger. Bruce was probably being targeted for a hit or maybe someone wanted to take the boys hostage for ransom. Both had happened before. This was going to be bad. Really bad. 

The thing about super hearing is you can hear the weapon, but it's hard to tell where it's actually aimed at. If Matt knew where it was precisely aimed, he could push the intended target out if the way.

Matt had just decided on a course of action that would keep all possible targets out of danger when he felt a sharp, sharp pain in his chest and heard a loud bang. Matt was thrusted back wards into the people behind him by the force of the shot.

All tangible thought clumped together into a mess of incoherency. Matt couldn't think. It was so loud. People, blurs, were scattering and yelling. It was so so loud, unbearably loud. Matt's hands fluttered to his chest, the source of his pain. Another explosion of pain shocked his senses, this time located in the center of his stomach, caused him to fall back again. It hurt, a lot. His hands felt wet. If he could see, they'd probably red too. It was loud. Hands were touching him. It was too much, so much pain and noise assaulting his already acute senses. There was so much frantic yelling and more sounds of shots filing the air. He was being dragged. Hopefully by a friend. Heartbeats were indistinguishable, just more nonsensical noise flooding his ears. The dragging stopped. Matt tried to sit up. The boys, the boys were in danger. They might be targets. He had to protect them. Hands pushed him back down. Someone was talking to him. He was wet. It was loud. It hurt. It was too much, just too much. Everything faded out, finally.  
_______  
The moment the shot wrung out the room descended into chaos. People scattered, trying to find the closest exit or cover under a table. 

When Bruce saw Matt crumple to the ground in the corner of his eye, he sprung into action immediately. In full Batman mode, he jumped of the stage and over the fleeing guests, ignoring the security guards that yelled to him to get to safety. He rushed over to where Matt lay, writhing on the ground clutching his chest. Dick and Damian weren’t far behind. Matt’s hands, which were covered in blood, moved to his ears, probably trying to stop the onslaught of noise that was surrounding him. A sensory overload was not the best thing to do experience after being shot, obviously.

Another shot filled the air and Matt’s hands dropped to his stomach. The shooter wasn’t done.

He was Batman goddammit! (Matt would’ve yelled at him for blasphemy if he could read minds) It was his job to ready for this kind of this. He should’ve known there was danger! Things like this had happened at galas before, he should’ve been prepared. That was his job, to be prepared. It was all his fault.  
________  
Damian cursed loudly when Matt collapsed following the completely unexpected gunfire. He knew that his father would get Matt into trouble, he just hadn’t expected it to be this soon or bad. He should’ve though, Damian mused, he was a fool. If he’d followed his instincts like he had been taught his whole life, this wouldn’t have happened. It was all his fault.

Arriving just behind his father, Damian grabbed Matt, who had now been shot twice, looked him over, and came to the conclusion that though it would cause more damage, dragging Matt to safety was the best possible option.

Damian pulled, the lawyer was surprising heavy but he could manage. He had to. Matt groaned at the jerking movement. He was in obvious pain and was probably very confused. Not being able to see would make being shot that much scarier. Matt probably had no idea what was going on, not to mention the sensory overload episode he was plainly suffering. 

Damian cursed again, this wasn’t supposed to happen, not tonight, not ever. Tonight he was Damian Wayne, not Robin. There wasn’t supposed to be any danger. Matt was just a lawyer, not a gang member or important politician. He was really kind, there’d be no sensible reason why someone would want to hurt him, unless Father had roped Matt into something dangerous. Matt was one of the few that could understand him, if he died because of Bruce, there’d be hell to pay.  
______  
In a joint effort, Dick, Damian, and Bruce had brought Matt to a safe place with cover. Too late for that of course, Matt had already been shot twice.

Dick looked at Matt and winced, Matt was in so much pain. He was a civilian, he shouldn’t have to know what it’s like to be shot. Matt’s breathing was labored, which was expected.

“Hey, Matt, it’s just Bruce, Damian, and I. It’s going to be fine. I need you to breath for me, nice deep breaths. That’s good. Help is on its way,” Dick soothed.

Matt didn’t seem to hear. Not having coherent thoughts was reasonable after have been shot, twice.

Police burst into the room, weapons drawn, looking for the perp. Good. Hopefully the police’s arrival also meant that ambulances were also at the ready. Dick hoped so, Matt desperately needed help.

Matt tried to sit up, Dick carefully pushed him back down to the floor. Matt had to stay down. Matt groaned quietly and gripped his chest. Matt had lost a lot of blood, he needed medical attention quickly. This fact was enforced in Dick’s mind when Matt fell limp, now totally unconscious.

Dick pressed his hands down, applying pressure, to Matt’s wounds. He should be used to blood at this point, but Matt is a friend. And not a friend of Nightwing, but a friend of Dick Grayson. Bad things weren’t supposed, or expected, to happen to friends of Dick. They were supposed to watch a movie, complain about the world together, not go to the hospital. He was Nightwing! It was his job to keep people safe. He had failed. He was seen the fricken laser for God’s sake. (Blasphemy) The moment he saw the light, he should’ve sprung into action. It was all, and utterly, his fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stick around for more chapters and let me know what you think! 
> 
> Do you like it? Comments feed my soul!


	3. Did You See What I Did?

The wait for the ambulance was unbearable, excruciatingly slow. When it finally did arrive there was a flurry of motion, instructions, and the determination that rides on the shoulders of EMTs and paramedics. They carefully picked up Matt and put him on a stretcher, a stretcher that was quickly changing its color to red. Matt was brought to consciousness only for a second where he gave a cry of pain only to fall back again. Reminding the Bat-family what they could lose that night.

They all knew that ambulance ride was going to be horrible and that it also might be Matt Murdock's last ever car ride. Only one passenger could ride with Matt in the car and Bruce would not, could not, allow either of his sons to be the one to go. He couldn't let them possibly watch a close friend die without being there to comfort them. If he could shield them from that pain, he would. Also, Bruce felt that it was his responsibility to watch Matt as others tried to save his life. He'd failed as Batman, if Matt died it would be his fault and he would deserve the pain of having to helplessly watch him pass on without being able to do anything to help. Damian and Dick shouldn't have to experience anymore pain today. It was moments like this that made Bruce remember that they were only children.

Dick and Damian rode on Dick's motorcycle at breakneck speed, weaving in and out of the traffic. They arrived at the hospital minutes before the ambulance. Those were horrible, unbearable minutes, filled with the anxiety and guilt that the two brothers just seemed to be breathing. And all they could do was wait.

Dick looked as if he was going to collapse on the spot. His face was red and blotchy, screwed up in indescribable emotion, but there were no tears. Tears would not help Matt, so they did not fall. Dick teetered as he stood, overwhelmed by the downpour of the thoughts 'what if' and 'if only' as well as the image of the little, harmless looking, red laser that was now forever etched into his mind's eye. That image would never go away now. If guilt could take human form, it would take the form of Dick Grayson. There was no doubt about that.

Damian, on the other hand, was never one to show great amounts of emotions and when he couldn't hide his emotions from the world, he turned to anger. He had been taught that it was weak to be sad, but that anger could be used as a tool to complete any goal he had. So, Damian felt the anger bubble up inside of him. Boiling hot anger. Anger at himself. Anger at his father. Anger at the damn sniper. Anger at whoever was pulling the strings. Anger at the whole, cold and unforgiving world. Maybe it was his destiny to lose all those that saw through his mental barriers and sought to comfort him.

His fists were clenched as though he was prepared to fight the biggest baddie out there, which he probably was. Anger would not serve Matt, it would not help him. All Damian could do following his devastating failure was to turn his anger into motivation for finding the 'who', 'how', and 'why'. He'd failed before, he would not fail now. He would find why this happened and make all of those involved pay.  
_______  
They lost Matt three times on the way to the hospital. He barely came back the third time. Upon arriving at the hospital, Matt was immediately whisked away to surgery. He needed heart surgery because of the shot that hit his chest. The second shot did a lot of damage to Matt's organs, but hopefully he wouldn't need a transplant. Doctors said that it would be a very difficult operation, and that was all that they said, leaving the Bat-family alone where they stood, to dwell with their thoughts and emotions.

It was silent for a long time. One of their dear friends had just been shot in front of them by a sniper at a party they were hosting. They were heroes and their friend had been shot while they stood, not even being prepared for anything to go wrong. What else was there to say? 

Damian was the first to speak. "What do we do now? We can't help Matt, but we can find out who did this and why? We need to. Where do we start Father?"

Bruce's demeanor changed, he was in full on Batman mode now. "Damian, you go back to the ballroom, see what you can find. Dick, you stay here and keep us updated on Matt's condition. While you wait, hack into the security feed and relay to Damian or me anything useful. I am going to look at Matt's office, I have a feeling that this all has to do with a certain case."

Damian made an angry guttural sound. "I knew all this had to do with whatever you put Matt up to! You put him in danger! Did he even know what he was getting into?! Did you warn him?! I demand that you tell us everything now! If we had all known everything about whatever it is that you two were doing, this might have been preventable!"

"That doesn't matter now, right now we need to focus on finding out how this happened. I can fill you in on everything later. I've given you your orders, any questions?"

Damian gritted out a 'no'. Dick said nothing.

"Dick?"

"I saw it, right before," he stated glumly.

"Saw what?"

"The laser."

"What laser?"

"The little red laser, the type used to help with aim. I saw it. It was on his chest. I thought it was a kid fooling around."

"Oh."

The atmosphere grew still in the room.

"I saw it, I didn't do anything."

Dick stared at the floor, waiting for the yelling to commence. 

Bruce, after a moment, stepped forward silently and in performed one of his rarest actions, he gave his son a hug.

"It's not your fault, you couldn't have known."  
_______  
Whoever had been hired for the hit must have been expensive because damn were they good.

It was hard to get a really clear look because of the fact that Damian had to avoid the cops. The cops were clean and wouldn’t mind robin looking into the scene, but until more facts can to light, Damian preferred to keep his presence hidden. Who knows who could have been involved with the hit.

What Damian could see through the crowds of law enforcement was nothing. No furniture out of place, no tracks, no shell casings, nothing. It was hard to keep even the smallest pieces of evidence from being noticed by one of the Batman’s protégés. Just because he couldn’t see anything doesn’t mean that there wasn’t anything there. So he kept looking. It was frustrating looking for clues that possible didn’t exist.

From the security feed that Dick had sent him, Damian knew exactly where the shooter had shot from. The shooters identity was hidden behind a disguise. The man, Damian assumed the shooter was a mind from the shooter’s height and build, wasn’t wearing a suit so they hadn’t been disguised a guest. If he’d disguised himself as a guest, Damian could for sure find the perps identity, but that wasn’t the case.

There seemed to be no data to collect, not even when Damian shown a special light over where the camera feed showed the shooter to stand. After a while it was evident that he would find no clues to help them, he was wasting him time. He couldn’t afford to waste time, so Damian took some crime scene photos and informed his father of his second failure.

His father did not seem disturbed by the lack of evidence, it rather seemed like he expected it. He also reported back that while there was a lot of valuable information in Matt’s office, there was nothing he didn’t already know or if there was, it was in braille and he couldn’t understand it without Matt’s guidance. Matt grew secretive in his work with big cases after his case against Fisk, even though he never showed it outwardly. Matt had resorted to hiding important information in his documents in the form coded messages. Batman could probably crack the code, but it would be especially hard to crack a braille code. They would have to wait for Matt to wake up, if he did that is, although the last part wasn’t mentioned aloud, just thought by both.

Though they did not like to invade their friend’s privacy, they decided that the best course of action would be to see what they could find in Matt’s apartment.  
_______  
Matt’s apartment was actually quite large, though his rent was probably cheap due to the horrendously bright billboard outside of it. Getting in was no problem, which actually was a problem. Damian was going to fix Matt’s security right after Matt started on his way to recovery.

It was spacious and the two intruders decided that they would keep it that way. Once they left, not one thing would be out of place. Matt needed things to be in certain spots for him to find them and they certainly weren’t going to mess up his system.

There was a large pile of important looking papers on a table by the window and the two were about to look through them when something caught both of their eyes. There was a shadow. A shadow meant a person. They weren’t alone.

Bruce and Damian tensed in preparation. The silhouette drew closer. There was something in the person’s hands, it shown brightly no the moonlight that flooded in through the open widow that Bruce and Damian had entered through.

Bruce seemed to come to a sudden realization right as the shape tossed its object towards them.

“Bomb! Go!”

Both hurdled themselves through the window just as an explosion rocked the landscape.

Matt’s apartment was utterly destroyed, completely in flames.

Damian and Bruce had no time to think about this though because the apartment had other inhabitants that needed to be rescued.

Once everyone was safe, Batman and Robin stood there panting, the realization of what had just occurred fully registering itself in their minds. Matt’s apartment and any information it held was gone and the bomber escaped.

A device on Bruce’s belt beeped, he had a message.

“We need you over a—”

“Hello” A cryptic and robotized voice answered. It was not Dick.

“Did you see what I did?”

“Wha—”

“Drop the case or I drop one on Matt Murdock.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that okay?  
> I love comments!


	4. Hospital

Heaviness was slowly lifting from Matt's mind as he came to. The uncomfortable fogginess still resided though, curtsy of hospital drugs. Matt was not a fan of being given drugs. They made him lose the sharpness of the senses he so relied on. They made him feel vulnerable, not that anyone had to know that.

The first thing he noticed was that he was lying down on something soft, but he didn't remember going to bed. What was the last thing he did? Matt couldn't recall. Matt hated drugs soo much.

Matt was trying to get a feel for the room with his dulled senses when a voice surprised Matt from the other side of the room, causing Matt to flinch. 

"He's awake."

The sound of several people getting up disrupted the silence.

How many people were on here? God, Matt hated drugs. (Blasphemy)

"Matt do you know where you are?" That voice belonged to Bruce. Why was Bruce here? Where was here?

"Uhhhh-I think there's a bed?" Matt tried to sound certain, but the drugs in his system just left him confused.

"How's he supposed to know where he is? You can't hear a location! Ask some reasonable questions!" That voice was Damian's.

"Matt, you're in a hospital. What is the last thing you remember?" Bruce again. Drugs are starting to fade, mind becoming clearer.

"Umm-party. I was at one of your parties, you were giving a speech, there was a really loud camera," It was a camera, wasn't it? "I don't remember anything else."

Damian swore.

"A camera?" That was Dick

"Uhh yeah, I think so. There was a loud clicking sound coming from the balcony, I think. It was distracting because people weren't supposed to be upstairs. Maybe it was a reporter, I don't know." Matt was now throughly confused. Why did the camera matter?

Everyone was silent, but Matt's senses were returning. He couldn't sense the people in the room now. There was Dick, Bruce, and Damian and a stranger, maybe a doctor. They said he was in a hospital. Why was he in a hospital? Matt's chest started to burn, he groaned.

"Hey, don't touch that. You could damage it. I'll get you some more morphine." Yeah definitely a medical person.

"Could you wait a bit for that, we need to ask a few more questions." That was Bruce, he sounded more serious than usual.

"Alright, but make it quick."

"Matt do you know why you're here?"

"Uhh-no. My Stomach and chest? They feel weird."

"You were shot."

"Oh."

"You don't seem to surprised. Did you have a feeling this would happen?"

"Oh? No. But that was probably the camera sound." Being shot made sense for Daredevil, but not Matt Murdock. Why would he be shot as Matt Murdock?

"Yeah, maybe. Do you have any idea why you shot? Anyone have it out for you?" 

"Uh no. I don't think Fisk likes me very much, but he's in jail. I didn't tell anyone about our case. I found something interesting. People would be pretty mad though if they did find out."

That made Damian pissed. "I knew it, I knew it! You dragged him into this mess, Father!" Matt's senses were now sharp enough that he could tell that Damian had Bruce's shirt clenched in his fist.

"I don't think your dad had anything to do with this. I'm just saying I can't think of why someone would shoot me. I'm a blind lawyer, so if there was a reason it would probably have to do with my being a lawyer," Matt soothed. Damian unclenched his fist.

Ow, his chest's pain was increasing.

Dick must have noticed because he excused everyone from the room and got the doctor to give him more medication.

Matt fell asleep again.  
______  
Damian was pissed. Someone was targeting his friend and his father wasn’t telling him anything. Someone had blown up Matt’s freaking apartment and had sent his dad a mysterious message, which he wouldn’t share with either of his sons.

“He heard the gun. He heard the gun! How didn’t we notice anything! It must have been loud for Matt to hear from a floor below. How did no one hear anything?!” Dick was practically hysterical.

“We know how we’ve messed up, we do, we just can’t focus on it. We need to focus on not making any more mistakes,” Father looked like gears were turning in his head.

“You need to tell us what the people wanted,” Damian stated. His father’s gate keeping of information caused Matt to almost die, who knows what could happen if he continued to keep whatever information he had secret.

“No.” He obviously wasn’t going to budge, it was a lost cause at this point.

“How do we know that whoever ‘they’ are won’t strike again?! Where is Matt going to stay?! How long is this going to go on for?!” Dick was still hysterical. He really needed to get a grip.

“We don’t know if ‘they’ are going to strike again, so I’ve decided that Matt is going to stay with us for a while. We have extra rooms. I got him into this mess, I know, so I’ll get him out of it. I have a plan.” Of course, he had a plan already. He was Batman.

“I think he took being shot too well. Think he knew something but he’s getting threats or something?” Damian was suspicious of how not frightened Matt was at the idea he’d been just shot by a sniper.

“Maybe, probably. I’ll find out later.”

“What is our immediate plan?”

“You two are going to watch Matt. Someone needs to inform him of the status of his apartment. If he’s well enough for it, try to get him to decode some of his braille documents. I think there are some hidden messages in what he wrote. Be gentle though.”

“What are you going to do,” Dick asked, calmer now that he had a task.

“I’m going to head to Hell’s Kitchen, that’s Matt’s neighborhood in Gotham. There’s a vigilante I’ve been meaning to look into. They’re calling him ‘Daredevil’. Maybe he knows something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t really like this chapter, but oh well.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	5. Daredevil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of swearing if you mind

It was a dark night in Hell's Kitchen, well suited for the skulking around that came with the vigilante business. Bruce was once again searching the neighborhood for any sign of either the gala hitman or for the elusive Daredevil. It had been three days since Matt had woken up in the hospital and he was still to drugged up to think clearly and provide any useful information, so the batfam has to come to any conclusions by themselves.

Bruce was currently following a man that who had been seen trying to force himself into Matt's hospital room. That event had given Bruce quite the scare. He had been returning to the hospital from a business when he saw a burly man threatening the guards that were posted outside the Matt's door to let him in. Whether the man had meant Matt harm or whether the man had simply mistaken Matt's room for a different room had been unclear, but no stone, potential clue, would be left unturned.

As it turned out, the man had not been mistaken in his efforts to enter Matt's hospital room. After looking looking into it, Bruce discovered that the man, Anton Jaroslav (I used a name generator), was a member of an up and coming sodality of hitmen. Anton seemed to be a bottom feeder of the group, clearly not trusted enough to be given the job of carrying out a hit on Matt Murdock. A good hitman would never be seen in public, especially not seen trying to force their way to their target. While not the hitman that Bruce was looking for, following him could lead Bruce straight to the perpetrator.

It also seemed as though Bruce wasn't the only one to hear about Anton's spectacle at the hospital. A group of three men had approached him in an alley and had immediately instigated a rather loud and violent argument.

"What the hell were you thinking you fucking idiot! The cops are going to look you up and know where that leaves us, on the run or rotting in a cell! You had one job, one job!" One of the three men seemed to be more vocal than the others. Judging by his clothes, he was in a higher position than Anton But was still low on the ladder. The other two men looked like grunts. They were brawny and looked like they were itching to give Anton a beating.

"I was told by the boss to investigate their security! What do you think I did?! More than you, that's for sure, you lap dog!"

"If I'm a lap dog than what are you? You only know how to listen to the boss's beck and call! Now I gotta explain why the plan got blown to shit! Again! After the stunt you pulled last month with this too, you're going to die!"

"If you're lucky, the boss'll only send us to teach ya a lesson! Want to get it over with?" Both of grunts moved forward and cornered Anton and proceeded to beat the hell out of him. They were professionals.

Bruce took this as his cue, jumping down from his perch on a nearby building. Despite the grunts being practically bears in human form scrambled away the moment a shadow caught their eyes. You didn't mess with Batman.

Anton didn't flee with his "friends", instead he just cowered in the bloody heap that he had been left in, too tired to stand. 

"I don't want any trouble," he slurred, trying to get up.

"I sure hope so Anton."

It didn’t really matter what Anton wanted. He helped out his innocent friend in the hospital. Without the ‘Batman Morals’, he’d just be a stain on the sidewalk. But that couldn’t happen so Bruce would just settle for finishing up the work of the two grunts.

"How-how do you know my name?"

"I know a lot about you. Now you're going to tell me about whatever organization you're a member of." Bruce made a threatening motion.

"Okay, okay! Just don't hurt me!"

"I won't if you talk." That was a lie.

"Didn't you already get everything you wanted to know from Daredevil? He visited me last month. He's very intimidating, I told him everything I knew!"

"Daredevil?"

"Uhhh-yeah! He wanted to know about Mr. Luthor and a legal case!"

"Where can I find him?"

"Daredevil or Luthor?"

"Daredevil."

"I don't know! I swear! He just appeared! No one knows anything about him! Please believe me!"

"I do."

"You do?"

"Yes. I'm going to let you go now." That was also partially a lie. Bruce would let him go, just not unscathed.

"Y-you are!"

"Yes, but I am going to visit you. I will always know where you are. Next time we meet you will have all the information you told Daredevil plus more with you. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!"

“I’m not sure you do.”

“I-I do, I do!”

“Let me make sure.”

“Wha-” punches flew.

About half an hour later, Bruce left the scene, leaving a bloody and trembling Anton. He now had a lot to think about. Daredevil was more involved than he first thought. Daredevil was a good guy, why was he staying hidden?  
_______  
It had now been a week since Matt's surgery and he was now recuperating in the Wayne Manor. Bruce was locked away in his office most of the time, neck-deep in work. Dick and Damian, when not at school or doing their nighttime business, kept Matt company.

"That fish movie was better than I expected, even though it was still quite childish," Damian would never admit to liking a kid's movie just because it was fun to watch.

"I told you Pixar rocks!" Dick was just happy that he got to watch his movie with Matt despite all of the events that had happened recently.

"I did not say that! I am merely stating that the final product of the movie was better than I had been originally told. The artists were skilled."

"Admit that you liked it!"

Matt just laughed at the brothers' bickering. He definitely felt better, his chest pain was now to the point where it was just a dull roar. It was nice to not have to think about the shooting. 

Now on just a few drugs, Matt could remember clearly the events of that night. While upset that he’d been shot and almost died, he was happy that he was the target, instead of Bruce or the boys.

One thing that was worrying Matt, besides the fact that he was a target for assassination, was that the Wayne family had recently become obsessed with Daredevil. As Daredevil, Matt had done some investigation for the case he was working on with Bruce. This was a while before the gala though.

At night Matt could hear Bruce and the boys leave to go somewhere. They did this every night and Matt had to still discover where they went. They always where breathing heavily when they came back too. Another curious thing that Matt had discovered was that there seemed to be something under the Manor, like a ginormous hole. Matt couldn’t ask what the hole was, but maybe they’d take him there one day. Matt didn’t really mind as long as it had nothing to do with their interest in Daredevil.

Matt started falling asleep again, the sound of “Let it go” and an increased dose of medicine lulling him into dreamland. His last conscious thought was ‘What’s the harm, let them study Daredevil. Why would anyone think he had anything to do with anything.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that chapter?
> 
> Also does anyone know the name of a fanfic, I’m not sure if it’s on ao3 or FanFiction.Net. In it Dick gets shot by a special gun saving Bruce and goes brain dead. I think the Justice League is in it. I read it once and loved it but can’t find it anywhere.


	6. Identities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild swearing  
> Sorry for any typos  
> PLEASE READ END NOTES!

“Your dad was a famous boxer, right?"

"Yeah, he was. He was really really good."

The boys were sitting on the couch helping Matt change some of his bandages while also watching some old cartoon TV show. Dick was curious about Matt's life before they met, Damian was just tired. Damian had been up late the night before as Robin, so he was dozing off while listening to the conversation of Matt and Dick.

"Did he teach you how to box?"

"Yeah, of course. I knew all the moves, even though I was a super scrawny kid. No one messed with me. Whether that was because of me or because of my dad is up for debate though," Matt laughed.

"Do you still know the moves? Like could you show someone?" Bruce was currently having Dick learn some new fighting styles and both were surprised to realize that Dick didn't know anything about boxing, even though a lot of the people they fought were masters at the style.

"Umm-I'm not sure if I could do them, because I can't see if I'm doing it right or not, but I know the moves perfectly in my head. Like I could explain it to someone or move their body into the positions. Why?"

"Oh, just curious. You're just fitter than I thought you would be. You must work out a lot. It's nice that you can still work out a lot even though you're blind." Damian elbowed Dick, Matt laughed.

"Oh! I have another question, you don't have answer though. Where did you get all of these scars?" Dick was referring to the numerous, and scary, amount of scars that littered Matt's body.

Damian glared at Dick, "Don't ask personal questions like that! If he didn't want to answer he would still answer because you asked him." Even though Damian too, was curious, he wasn't going to ask Matt a question like that.

Matt smiled, he liked the way Damian showed affection. "It's fine, I don't mind. I don't really have an answer though. I can't see the scars that you're talking about. I can feel them a bit, but I don't remember. They probably came from the crash or the chemical spill."

"But then how come they're not on your face? You have a few on the lower half of your face but none on the upper half. If they were from the crash then your face, especially by the eyes, would be covered by scars."

"I don't know." Matt was looking uncomfortable now.

"What's your favorite part about Hell's Kitchen?" Damian changed the subject.  
_____  
"Are you sure you want to continue this case? You can stop, it's fine. I can continue it without you."

"No. We've gotten so far, I'm not just going to give up on everything now. Besides, now it's personal."

Bruce and Matt were holed up in Bruce's office, discussing the case. Bruce was worried for Matt, obviously, and thought that it might be best if Matt backed out of this one. Matt didn't think so.

"But—"

"Nothing you do us going to make me stop, you know that."

"You have zero self preservation, you know that right?"

Matt laughed, "I know that better than anyone. Let's lay everything that we know about the case down."

"Alright, so we have evidence that Lex Luthor is shipping illegal products over by these docks," Bruce said, pointing to a tactile map. (I looked it up, not sure if that's the right name for it though)

"Yeah, but we need to make sure that he can't distance himself from the shipments and put the blame on someone else. I dug up some documents that he tried to hide. They showed the dangerous chemicals that he's using. I think they're involved in making Scarecrow's gas. Scarecrow might be persuaded to attest to that. I also got my hands on some witness statements that show Luthor paying off the people in charge of watching the Joker just days before his escape. Soon I think we'll be able to tie everything together into an airtight case," Matt said.

"Oh, I hope so. Gotham is nuts enough without having an evil genius puppeteering the looneys. If he succeeds, not even Batman will be able to stop them," Bruce said despairingly.

"I think you should have more faith in the Bat," said Matt.

Bruce just scoffed.  
_____  
It was somewhere between sunrise and nighttime. Matt had woken up and couldn't go back to sleep, so he just laid in bed listening to the sounds of the Manor. Alfred was in the kitchen, cleaning something. Bruce and the boys were downstairs, they had just come back from their nighttime adventure. They were more out of breath than they usually were, like they'd been chased. Judging by their heartbeats they were very frantic about something, even Bruce had a rapid heartbeat. Matt wondered what they did at night, but he couldn’t say, “Hey, I have super-hearing so I know that you guys go out every night and have a huge hole under your house. Could you tell me about it?”

The children climbed the stairs to return to their room, whispering to each other. Matt didn’t want to eavesdrop, he was there guest and they were helping him, but he caught a few words.

"Are you absolutely sure we weren't followed?" That was Dick.

"Trust Father." That was Damian.

"That doesn't answer my question!"

"No, I'm not sure, but Father is and I trust his intuition. You should too. After being Robin for several years and then Nightwing, I am surprised that you still doubt him.”

‘The hell... Robin? Nightwing? Why would Damian refer to Duck as being Robin and Nightwing? Unless...,’ Matt came to a conclusion, ‘Jesus! (Blasphemy) They were Robin and Nightwing! They were vigilantes! That-that made Bruce the friggen Batman! God, Matt felt like an idiot! (Blasphemy) The-the hole under the mansion-that had to be the Batcave! The Batcave! It was so obvious now! That’s why they felt guilty about the sniper! That’s why they left every night That’s why they were interested in Daredevil! Did they know that he was Daredevil?’

Matt was brought out of his musings by a large crash that filled the Manor.

“Oh no...” said Dick.

“He’s here! Father!” Damian cried.

“I know! Get ready!” Bruce called back from a ways away.

An unfamiliar voice spoke, “Hello Batman, or should I say Bruce Wayne.”

Crap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was chapter 6! I hope that chapter wasn’t too rushed.
> 
> After this story I have two others that I want to write. Which sounds better/ which would you guys rather read? PLEASE COMMENT!!
> 
> Daredevil/Young Justice:After hearing something he wasn’t supposed to hear, Matt gets framed and attacked by police that are in Fisk's pocket. They are claiming that Matt has superpowers and that he attacked him, but Matt’s just blind. (He doesn’t have powers) Young Justice helps him.
> 
> Batman/Young Justice: After being shot in the head, Dick isn’t the same. He has seizures and other medical issues. Although he can’t patrol anymore, he won’t be kept on the sidelines. He mentors the Young Justice team. He doesn’t tell them about his seizures.


	7. Invasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any typos

"Hello Dick, nice to see you here," said the voice.

Dick's heart rate elevated greatly. He knew the stranger, and not in a good way. "Can't say the same to you, Slade," Dick said.

"That's to bad," the newly named Slade mocked. The name was familiar to Matt, but he couldn't place it. Slade had a strong heartbeat, he wasn't intimidated by the Bats that were circling him like vultures.

Bruce finally spoke, "Why are you here Deathstroke?"

'Deathstroke? Holy crap! (Blasphemy) Jesus Christ! (Blasphemy) The Deathstroke! What was he doing here!He was the best mercenary around! Like in the world! Was he here to finish the job?'

"I am not here to kill you Bat. Or your sons. I am here for someone else."

'Definitely here to finish the job,' Matt concluded. He had to leave, and fast. Deathstroke was ruthless.

Bruce had come to same conclusion and he quickly and urgently ordered Damian to take Matt away to safety. Damian complied just as quickly, if not faster, and sprinted towards Matt's room. Deathstroke didn't follow, he knew that he'd have to get through Batman and Nightwing first.  
_____  
Matt was conflicted. His friends were in danger. Because of him too! But was it best to let them fight it out or should he expose himself? Matt ultimately decided to let them fight it out and if they needed help, he'd expose himself. It wouldn't help for them to be distracted by the fact that he could fight when they should be completely focused on Deathstroke.

Matt pretended to be surprised when Damian charged into the bedroom. "What's going on?"

"Not now! We need to go now!" Damian cried as he grabbed Matt's cane and roughly pulled Matt along the hallway, not at all following the proper etiquette involved with leading a person who couldn't see, but it Matt could be killed. Damian would rather be rude than have his friend die.

They went up and down and took so many turns as they ran, it was like a maze. Matt almost lost track. Key word being almost. If Dick and Bruce needed help, Matt had to be able to get to them in a timely fashion. 

Deathstroke was known for having strange morals. He said he wasn't in the Manor to kill Bruce, Dick, or Damian, so he wouldn't. Matt decided that it would be best if he worried mainly about himself and what he should do if he had to fight Deathstroke.

When they finally stopped, they were in a small enclosed space that smelled wet and musty. Matt realized that they had to be in one of the chasms of the Batcave. Hopefully Deathstroke wouldn't be able to find him.

"Now can you tell me what the Hell is going on? (Blasphemy) Is there a home invasion going on or something?" Matt asked, feigning confusion.

"Do you know who Deathstroke is?" Damian asked bluntly.

"Yeah, he's a super notorious mercenary guy. Oh my God! (Blasphemy) Is he here? Is that who was making a ruckus in the hall?" Matt asked.

"Yes. I think whoever blew up your apartment paid him to go after you," stated Damian. The way Damian talked made him seem unemotional, but his heartbeat said otherwise. He was terrified. He had reason to feel that way, Deathstroke had just followed them, learned his family's secret identities, was currently in his house fighting his dad and brother, and was trying to kill his friend.

Matt played dumb. "Christ! (Blasphemy) I'm totally screwed! They couldn't leave it at a failed sniper attempt could they! What are we going to do?!"

"We are going to wait here and see if Father sends us a signal saying that we are safe."

"Bruce?! What is he doing? Is Dick with him? What about Alfred?"

"You have to understand that Deathstroke is a man with odd, but strong morals. He never kills unless it's a part of his contract. Father and Dick are entertaining him for a bit. Their distraction allowed us to hide here. We are in part of a small cave that is near the Manor. Dick and I play in it during the summer months and no one else, besides Bruce and Alfred, know about it. We're safe here and Father and my dumbass brother will be fine. They might get roughed up a bit, but they will be fine. Alfred is in his room, Deathstroke would never hurt him."

After Damian's spiel, the pair grew silent, waiting. After a while Damian declared, “It is to silent, I need to go somewhere. Don’t worry I’ll come back. No matter what, you have to stay where you are.” Matt half-heartedly tried to get Damian stayed, but he knew Damian would go help his family no matter what Matt said. So Damian left, joining his family in battle, leaving Matt in the silence of the cave.

For Matt though, it wasn't silent, he was listening to the battle taking place far above him. Deathstroke was definitely skilled, but so were Nightwing and Batman. They kept on circling around each other, looking for an opening, striking a hit when they could.

As Matt listened, he came to a startling discovery. There was another heartbeat. Several actually. The beats were so well hidden that Matt almost brushed it off as Damian’s cat, almost. Deathstroke had secret partners.  
______  
Dick swore, again. They were doing pretty well against Slade. It was two against one and they were the famous Batman and Robin (now Nightwing) and they also had Damian available as back up. Damian had just joined them and was currently waiting for an opening in which to strike, The odds were definitely in their favor. Regardless, Dick felt like he was missing something. Slade was definitely injured and tired, but he still had a triumphant smile on his face. He knew something they didn’t.

Bruce swung at Slade, who was dodging one of Dick’s well-placed flips, and managed to throw him against a nearby wall. Bruce held a batarang to Slade’s throat.

“It’s over Deathstroke,” Bruce growled.

Slade just smiled, “But is it? Is it really?” 

Out of the corner of Dick’s eye he saw shadow dropping onto the ground from the rafters.  
____  
Matt took his cue. Deathstroke had a surprise in his sleeve, but so did Batman, Batman just didn’t know it yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this wasn’t too short, let me know what you think!
> 
> Please checkout my few fic “Still A Hero”, I want to know if it’s any good


	8. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I had to figure out who I wanted partners to be. Hope I picked okay people.

As Matt rushed towards his friends and hosts, he could feel the immediate change in atmosphere that had been created by the revealing of Deathstroke's partners. He could hear the way Damian's heart had almost come to a complete stop and the way he tensed. Bruce's stance also tensed and Dick let out a very audible gasp. They were all familiar and surprised by the appearance of the new players.

Judging by weight and the way the two people moved, there was one woman and one young man. Both seemed to be extremely skilled fighters as well.

Just as Matt reached the door that led to the hall where the action was, he heard Bruce speak. "Why are you here Talia? The League of Assassins doesn't deal with Deathstroke and I thought we had a deal."

The woman, Talia, spoke, "I said that I would leave you boys as well as my son alone. I am, my goal is not to harm them. If they get hurt, it's their fault. The reason why we are even facing each other today is entirely your fault. I know you received our warning at your friend's apartment."

"You know I can't give up this case. Everything I've been working on riding on its success. If I fail, all these years as a vigilante will have been for nothing. And what about you Jason? You know how important this work is! Why are you working with them!? I know you hate and resent me, but this is not the way to go about getting back at me. You want the Joker to pay, what I'm doing will make him pay. He won't hurt anyone ever again."

Matt was shocked, Jason was the name of Bruce's son, but he had died years ago. But then again, anything was possible in Gotham. 'Was it the same Jason? If it was, why would he attack his surrogate father?'

"That's a lie and you know it!" cried the young man, Jason. His voice sounded angry and venomous. He had experienced much pain even though he was still quite young. "Your damn (Blasphemy) case won't do jackshit! You don't have what it takes to get the job done! Never have, never will! I do though, that's why I'm here! The League of Assassins brought me back with the pit! I woke up to a world where I had died and you had done absolutely nothing! I trusted you! The League brought me back and opened my eyes! I will help them help the world to open their eyes to the failure that is Batman and they will help me take down the Joker! You will never save Gotham, you won't do what's necessary! I will!" 

Jason charged at Bruce. The sound of bullets filled the air. Matt felt fear grip him. Memories flooded in, the shot, the blood, the overwhelming sounds. Matt's chest tightened. Air grew scarce. Matt leaned against a wall for support. He was so close. Just through the doors that were just a few feet away his friends were in danger. They needed his help. But the guns! But friends! Matt stood, stuck in a cycle of his paralyzing fear and heroic natures conflicting

So Matt stood, and stood, and stood. Until a sharp cry abruptly forced him out of his trance.

"Mother!" The cry had said and it had come from little Damian, his voice fearful and choked by tears.

"Damian! No!" That was Dick, preoccupied with dodging his brother's bullets and unable to come to the aid of his youngest brother.

"Mother please!" It sounded like Damian was-was being held in the air, against a wall. There was some sharp object (a knife?) being pressed against his throat. Damian was in danger. He needed his help. Matt stood tall, rushed the door, and silently hid himself in the shadows. His aid would only be beneficial with the element of surprise. Matt's gunshot wound was still healing and he was not in peak physical condition.

'Mother? Damian's mother? But his mother was some mystery woman. Was this Talia person, the mystery woman?'

"Talia put him down." That was Bruce. "You don't want to do this."

"There are more important things than what I want." Talia said.

Slade spoke from behind Batman, who had released him in his effort to save his son. "Yes. Now Batman, you know my morals are strong. But what you are doing could ruin me. Right now, stopping you takes precedence. Now you are going to drop your weapon. Nightwing too. You are going to let me go and find your friend. Do not worry, he is a good man, he will feel nothing. No fear. No pain."

A conflicted Bruce spoke. "Why? Why do you all care so much about him?"

"Your friend knows tha—" Slade started, only to stop, wobble a bit, and collapse in a heap. A single billy club lay next to his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait and that the chapter was a bit short! Was it okay? What did you think of who I picked to be Slade’s partners?
> 
> Please check out my new fic “Murdock’s Mochas”


	9. Pre-chapter Question

Sorry to disappoint, but this isn’t a chapter. I will have one soon, I promise! (hope)

Does anyone have any tips for writing fight scenes?

In the next chapter I want to have Matt do some cool stunts, but I’m not very good at action sequences.

Sorry for the slow updates and thank you for reading!


	10. Ambivalent Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive me for how long this took! Thanks for all of the comments! I got tons of great advice about how to write battles and I’ll use all of it in future fics. 
> 
> I just couldn’t get through writing it, so I decided to not focus too much about stunts and Matt. Sorry

Slade collapsed just as Jason emptied the clip of his first gun. Bruce had managed to get out of the way of most of the bullets and the ones that did hit their target made contact with Bruce's advance armor. One or two managed to hit actual skin, but those just grazed. When Slade dropped to the floor, it had come out of nowhere and caused Jason to pause in shock for long enough for Bruce to go on the offensive.

'Ugh! Can't anyone just do their job anymore! I'm so sick and tired of working with people who can't pull their weight,' thought Jason, sighing as he loosened up his shoulders. Slade would have to get up on his own or face the consequences. Either way, he was not getting any help from the Red Hood.

"Come on son, you can still stop now!" Bruce called out as he grabbed a smoke bomb out of his belt and charged forward.

Jason ground his teeth in anger. "Calling me son will do nothing for you! It's just another empty promise."

"You are my son," Bruce stated like it was a simple fact.

Jason's chest swelled with some unnameable emotion that was quickly squashed and replaced with anger. 'How dare he!’

Jason fired his weapons rapidly, but Bruce threw his batarangs just as quickly. In the corner of his eye Jason saw a shadow drop down from above and descend on Talia who was threatening Damian. "You brought a friend I see. Got yourself another replacement? I'm not surprised, you do throw away Robins pretty quickly."

Bruce looked just as surprised though and shifted his attention to the figure. "Not yours?" he asked in a grunt. Even though Jason's bullets hadn't wounded Bruce, they still must've hurt.

Jason laughed. "Not mine. Obviously. Someone else found the cave without you knowing? You've gotten worse than I thought."

"I never meant to make you feel replaced. If I had known you were alive I would have taken you back right away. I'm sorry I didn't. You can still come back! Please!" said Bruce ignoring Jason’s comment and throwing a batarang. His face looked genuinely sorry, but Jason was skeptical.

Jason scoffed and shot that batarangs down. "I will never come back to you! You made me believe you cared! I know realize that that was a lie. You just wanted Robin. You're sorry you lost Robin. You never wanted me. You've decided to start caring about Red Robin and Robin and you've always cared for your precious circus brat, but you threw me away. I died. You replaced me. I came back to life. Joker was still around. You've always cared more about the upkeep of your morals than the safety of actual people. I came back to life, a miracle. I was traumatized, scared, and angry and you didn't help me. You have to deal with the consequences now!"

Jason’s charged forward and shot at Bruce’s feet, forcing him back.

"I know this is my fault and I have to deal with the consequences, but don't take this out on everyone else. Especially not an innocent man like Matt Murdock. We can move forward together and help save Gotham. You can help me put away the Joker. We can be a family again. Just drop your weapons," said Bruce dropping a smoke bomb and disappearing.

Jason grimaced. Family. He missed having a family. He would give anything to be a part of a family again. Anything. There was no going back though. 

“No. I will not drop my weapons. I will kill you and your friend. His blood will be on both of our hands.”

“If you will not stop in your own accord then I have no choice but to stop you with force.”

Jason yelped in pain as one of Bruce's grappling hooks wrapped around his ankle and pulled him forward. Jason quickly took out one of his specialized knives and cut the chord. He scrambled to his feet only to be knocked on the ground by an unexpected blow to the head. Jason laughed and tapped his helmet. "Bet that hurt your hand a lot Batman. Didn't hurt me though."

Bruce smirked. “You’re stronger than I remembered.”

Expecting the next blow, Jason was able to catch the next punch Bruce threw. "I'm not that weak little Robin you abandoned and left to die, I'm much stronger now. Stronger than you, I’d wager. You are at my mercy. You will feel the pain that I felt all those years ago!"

"No. You will fail like you have before. You will fail and I will save you!" Bruce roared as he twisted Jason's arm violently towards him.

Although keeping a relatively calm demeanor, Jason was internally seething. 'I do not need saving! You had your chance to save me you fool!' he thought.

"I will not fail, not this time," Jason voiced out loud. He swung his leg upwards, hitting Bruce directly in the chest, stunning him. Bruce fell backwards onto his hands, but immediately pushed himself off the ground and threw another smoke bomb into the air.

Blinded by the smoke, Jason raised his arm around his head protectively as he waited for it to clear. A powerful force from behind struck Jason in the neck. The whiplash made him crash onto the floor. Jason tried to regain his footing, but it was too late, Bruce had him pinned.

Immobilized, Jason could only look into Bruce’s eyes which had softened. “Why won’t you just stop?” he asked quietly,

“I can’t stop! This is who I am now. I can’t go back to being that innocent Robin! Don’t you get that!”

Bruce’s eyes looked at Jason with pity. “Why not? I...The whole family will gladly welcome you back. We—we can get you help. We can work with each other to repair our relationships. Our family needs you. It’s not the same without you. It hasn’t been for a long time. Alfred misses you, you know.”

Jason clenched his fists as he though of the sweet old man. ‘That’s just the type of low blow I would expect of you,’ he thought. “I miss Alfred too. He’s the only one who’s okay. I would go back to the manor if he needed me. I would never go back for you. I want to kill you. I would go for him though.”

Surprised, Bruce loosened his grip and looked shocked. “You would go back for him? Ha! Of course! Any of us would do anything for Alfred. What can I do though? What can I do to be more like Alfred? To make you willingly return to us?”

Jason took advantage of the opportunity presented by Bruce's loosened grip and tore away from the bat. In a swift motion Jason grabbed Bruce by the neck and hurled him at a wall. Bruce's back made a sickening cracking noise as he slide off the wall, revealing a rather large sized dent. Bruce groaned as Jason forced him to stand up and pushed him back up against the crumbling plaster. Jason took a knife out of his boot and extended it towards Bruce's exposed neck.

In the background Jason could hear Dick and the stranger call out, but Jason paid them no mind, they would have to get through Talia before they could even try to save Bruce.

"Why do you keep trying?" said Jason trying to keep his tone indifferent. He had to know. Why? Why after leaving him to die in the hands of the Joker? Why after everything he had done, every rule he had broke? every person he had killed? Why was Bruce so determined to have him back? Bruce had cast him aside long ago. So what did he mean? Was he really prepared to change just to get Jason back? Conflicting emotions of hope, confusion, fear, and anger were tearing him apart. Bruce didn't look too different, his expression a painting of pain, remorse, and a tad bit of hope.

"You're my son."

"No, I'm not." Jason scoffed and threw his head back in laugher, but it wasn't real. It wasn't funny. It was painful. It was overwhelming. Jason's body shook and Bruce fell to the floor.

Bruce did not attempt to get back up despite the desperate yells coming from Dick that told him to get far, far away from Jason. Bruce just laid there, knowing there was no escape, he was too injured. He couldn’t stand on his own. The only way for him to get out of death was from rescue or persuasion.

This filled Jason with rage. He wasn't supposed to accept defeat, he was supposed he struggle and scream as Jason took his life away. He wasn't supposed to just lay there.

"You're going to die tonight." Jason growled, placing his foot on Bruce's chest. 

Bruce just stared back. "I'm sorry for all of the pain you've had to live though and will have to continue to live through. If you do this you’re going to have to live with this too. You can still change. It’s not too late."

Jason tightened his grip. "Why are you giving up? Batman never gives up."

"I’m not giving up, I’m letting you make a choice. You can choose whether or not you want to give up on your life, your future. I let you down. You won't let me save you, but maybe this—you doing this—will save you. Maybe having to finally make a choice about what you’ve fantasized over will save you.”

Jason brought his knife closer to Bruce's bare neck. "No it won't, I'm past saving."

"No you're not."

Jason's heart hammered in his chest. "Yes I am. Want to know why? Because of you. You abandoned me. Now you feel guilty and try to make up for it with your stupid crusades and court cases. You try to make up for it, but you can't. You can't because you hide. You don't face your issues. You created me. You destroyed little Jason, the troubled Robin and created me, a monster. My. Existence. Is. Your. Fault."

Bruce's face contorted in grief and anguish. He understood exactly what Jason was saying. It felt so good, so so good. How hopeless, guilty, and downcast he looked, how much he shook, It all felt so satisfying. But it also didn't. Bruce wasn't supposed to be sorry, he was supposed to be filled with rage. He was supposed to curse at Jason so that Jason could kill him and feel victorious. Seeing Bruce like this wasn't supposed to make Jason feel so sick.

"Forgive me."

Jason's grip on his knife weakened as he forced back memories and past, now almost unknown emotions of joy. 'I can do this. This is what I’ve wanted for so long now.'

Jason forced back Bruce's head and pushed the knife even closer, making a small cut. Jason looked and the streaks of blood coming out of Bruce's mouth and his wounds. Jason imagined what his father figure would look like once he had finished the deed. Dread and panic filled Jason's soul.

Jason's legs gave way. "I—I can't do this." He dropped his knife and fled. Only briefly catching Bruce's large smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that good? Please comment!
> 
> Next chapter will talk about the other characters


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